CRITICAX NOTICES. 167 



soil, and the mode of procedure they have adopted to induce its present 

 condition. The nursery-ground in question forms part of fifty acres, 

 the whole of which is rated in the poor's-rate book at 8/. The soil, 

 which is from 12 to 15 inches in depth, is a black sandy peat, resting 

 upon a clayey subsoil, very deficient in vegetable matter, and naturally 

 incapable of producing any crop whatever ; but with cultivation it has 

 been rendered in the highest degree productive. 



" The first operation was to drain it from 3^ feet to 4 feet deep ; it 

 was then trenched 2 feet deep ; and to every acre so treated, from 

 thirty to forty tons of good farm-yard manure was added ; and as a 

 precautionary measure, to exhaust the consequent rankness, it was 

 deemed necessary to take a root crop previously to planting shrubs, as 

 potatoes, carrots, turnips, and mangold. After this treatment American 

 plants are found to thrive amazingly ; but, like all crops in very poor 

 soils, they are benefited by the application from time to time of suitable 

 enriching materials. 



" This, then," it is added, " being the system pursued by us in the 

 very poor soil as above described — and we can safely assert that 

 nowhere are Rhododendrons more expeditiously or handsomely grown 

 —it will be evident to those wlio have not as yet realized their hopes in 

 tlie cultivation of this most charming of hardy plants, that seemingly 

 unpropitious circumstances need be no effectual bar to their realization ; 

 and the desponding will gather fresh vigour in the pursuit, from the 

 conviction that success will ultimately crown their efforts. 



" It must not, however, be understood that American plants will 

 flourish in a very poor soil ; on the contrary, there is evidence every- 

 where tliat nearly all plants delight in a rich one. Even Mosses, 

 Lichens, and Heatli are more healthy and vigorous in the richest locali- 

 ties. With a trifling expense, however, the poorest soil may be ren- 

 dered suitable for Rhododendrons. An excellent compost may be made 

 as follows : — To two parts of sandy loam or peat, or in fact any sandy 

 soil that does not contain much calcareous matter (American plants 

 exhibit a great dislike to tiiat), add one-fourth leaf-mould, one-eighth 

 sand, and one-eighth rotten manure. If wanted immediately, the whole 

 should be well beaten, and thoroughly incorporated before using. It 

 would, however, be of great advantage to allow the mixture to remain 

 twelve months, turning it well two or three times during that period. 

 In old exhausted beds, a good dressing of rotten maiiure forked in will 

 be found higiily beneficial. 



" To all growers of American plants we wish to impress the follow- 

 ing suggestion ; however simple it may appear, it is the foundation, 

 when practically carried out, of all success in the cultivation of the 

 Rhododendron, and indeed of all fine-rooted plants of a similar character : 

 it is tiiis, never alloiv them to become thoroughly dry at the root. When 

 such a condition occurs, the whole structure of the plant is affected, 

 deficiency of vital energy is the result, and the natural consequence of 

 a deteriorated constitution is disease, and possibly death. The Rhodo-. 

 (lendron and its allies suffer more from a condition of excessive dryness 

 tlian any plants which we recollect ; tlierefore a damp situation, natural 

 or supplied, must be procured for the site of an American garden. In 



